Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
If you need some good views on Würzburg, if you want to enjoy heavenly silence or if you need to do penance for something – think about taking the steep ascent to the Käppele. It is a pilgrimage church high above the city also referred to as Mariä Heimsuchung. The Käppele was built by famous architect Balthasar Neumann in Rococo style and was consecrated in 1754.
Continue reading “Käppele”
High above Würzburg and the river Main you can see the Marienberg fortress. In fact it is located 100 meters higher than the river on a mountain. This strategic position was used continuously throughout the centuries and the current fortress was residence of the prince-bishops of Würzburg from 1253 to 1719.
Continue reading “Festung Marienberg”
Some people like to show off using the size of their residence. The prince-bishops of Würzburg are not different and created the Residenz, a vast baroque style castle. Finished in 1781 it was altered multiple times but the original style was preserved. Therefore, the UNESCO declared the castle a World Heritage site in 1981. Hopefully this helps to preserve the Residenz – after it was already massively damaged during World War II.
Continue reading “The Versailles of Bavaria”
The university of Göttingen has a wide range of scientific collections. Most of them are open to the public, but they’re distributed throughout the city and only accessible in very limited time frames. Therefore most inhabitants don’t know the treasures stored in the city. This changes with the Forum Wissen which was opened in 2022. It serves as a portal to these collections and presents important items at a central and well-accessible place.
Continue reading “Forum Wissen”
The highlight of the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe at Kassel are the historic water features or water games. To show their power, the landgraves were even taming the elements and in this case controlling water: behind the Herkules monument, water is collected in large basins. At dedicated points in time it is floating down the hill without any electricity, creating sounds and fountains. This event happens every Wednesday, Sunday and on public holidays from May 1st to October 3rd.
Continue reading “Wasserspiele”
The fifteenth version of the contemporary art exhibition documenta happened in Kassel from June 18th to September 25th, 2022. It was curated by ruangrupa, an Indonesian artist collective that applied the principle of lumbung, the Indonesian tradition of a collectively used rice barn.
Continue reading “documenta fifteen”
Visiting Dubrovnik, Croatia, is a special pleasure. It is a medieval trade city with high walls, beautiful houses and streets made of ancient stones. A place with two wonderful harbors and an atmosphere that makes it easy for you to travel back in time. A place that is for very good reasons listed in the UNESCO world heritage site list as a whole. And it is an amazing place for canoeing around historic sights. As much as you need to see Venezia once in a lifetime you need to see Dubrovnik.
Continue reading “Pearl of the Adriatic”
In the most southern part of Croatia, few kilometers away from Bosnia and Montenegro, you’ll find Cavtat. It’s a small town you would typically choose for a quiet beach vacation: not much hustle and bustle, many small beaches between forests and a harbor with good bars and restaurants.
Continue reading “Cavtat”
Once people have seen all angles of the old city of Dubrovnik they often search for some nature and a bit of recreation. Preferred destination for that is the island of Lokrum, a natural reserve on an island directly in front of the city (just 600 meters away). You simply need to get to the harbor, buy a ticket and a boat will take you out to a relaxed place with beaches, bars, a castle, a botanical garden and peacocks.
Continue reading “Lokrum”
Ragusa and later Dubrovnik were always seafaring cities. They received their wealth by trading goods via the Mediterranean sea and had large and well-known fleets. Therefore it is no surprise that within the old city walls you’ll find a small museum on seafaring history: the Pomorski Muzej or Maritime Museum.
Continue reading “Seafaring history”